REFUGIO — A Refugio County grand jury indicted a 69-year-old man on sexual assault and official oppression charges stemming from an alleged June 18 incident.
Arnold Canlas Ecle of Refugio was indicted on one count of sexual assault and one count of official oppression, according to a case index filed Aug. 11 in the 24th District Court.
The sexual assault charge is a second-degree felony. Official oppression is a Class A misdemeanor.
Ecle was arrested by the Refugio County Sheriff’s Office at 9:49 p.m. on June 19 in the 200 block of South Ann Street, according to a sheriff’s office booking report obtained by the Refugio County Press. He was booked into the Refugio County Jail about 10 minutes later.
A judge set bail at $250,000 on the sexual assault charge and $35,000 on the official oppression charge, bringing his total bail to $285,000.
The court and booking records did not provide additional information about the allegations or identify the alleged victim.
Ecle remained listed as a pretrial inmate when the booking report was printed Aug. 17.
An indictment is a formal accusation and is not evidence of guilt. Ecle is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.